فَرَاغَ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِ
He went to his family/household in a non-obvious, furtive manner.
Ayah and Core Theme
فَرَاغَ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِ فَجَاءَ بِعِجْلٍ سَمِينٍ Discreet approach Generous offering
Ayah Structure (focus)
فَجَاءَ بِعِجْلٍ سَمِينٍ
He came with a fat calf — highlighting generosity and offering the best of what he had.
Language insights
رَاغَ (Raagha)
رَوْغ (Rawgh) and رَوَغَان (Rawaghaan) denote furtively turning away, evading or departing — moving away in a stealthy, non-apparent manner.
فَرَاغَ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِ
He went to his family/household in a non-obvious manner — communicating with them to prepare something for the guests without making the guests aware, so they would not feel like a burden.
فَجَاءَ بِعِجْلٍ سَمِينٍ
“He came with a fat calf”: the adjective سَمِينٍ (fat) signals generosity — Ibrahim (as) offered the best of what he had.
Glossary (from the explanation)
- رَاغَ (Raagha): to furtively turn away, evade or depart.
- أَهْلِهِ (Ahl): his family/members of his household.
- عِجْل (‘Ijl): calf.
- سَمِينٍ (Sameen): fat.
Derived etiquettes and mindset
Discretion with guests
Preparation happened without the guests realizing — avoiding any feeling that they were burdening the host.
Offer the best
The description “fat calf” emphasizes generosity — giving from the best available.
Thoughtful coordination
He went to his household non-obviously to coordinate hospitality.
Hide inconvenience
Any indication of inconvenience was concealed to honor the guests.
Clarification note
On an alternative view
NAK: the view that this refers to gesturing in secret to provide instruction without others seeing is noted; however, this is not supported linguistically or by the Tafsirs (per the provided explanation).